Lebanon: Hariri Killers to Be Sentenced as End Looms for Court

Hariri, who had stepped down as Lebanon's prime minister in October 2004, was killed less than six months later in a suicide blast. Mahmoud ZAYYAT AFP

A UN-backed court for Lebanon will sentence two Hezbollah members in their absence Thursday for the 2005 assassination of former premier Rafic Hariri in what could be the cash-strapped tribunal's final act.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), which is based in the Netherlands, found Habib Merhi and Hussein Oneissi guilty on appeal in March over a huge bombing that killed Hariri and 21 others and injured 226, AFP said.